H2O: The Next Generation
by FairyOfTheDragonFlame666
Summary: Meet Layla Bennett, Arielle McCartney, Sara Benjamin, and Sophia Dove as they discover the moon pool, and become mermaids! As fate would have it, the girls will need to overcome the obstacles that their mothers once faced without exposing themselves. Can these new mermaids prove themselves worthy of being mermaids? Or will this next generation of girls solve things the wrong way?


**H2O: The Next Generation**

**Chapter 1: Layla Bennett**

Layla Claire Bennett thought the torture would never end. She had already suffered a plane ride from one side of Australia to the Gold Coast, but her 9 year-old sister, Sami, was getting on her last nerve.

Sami sat on the other side of the car. Layla had her chin on her hand, and she stared at the window.

"What're you doing?" asked Sami. "Tryin' to put on some dramatic scene or something?"

"Sami, that's enough." Layla's mom said. But Sami paid no attention.

"You still thinking about home? That dirty place? I'm glad we're moving. I hope I have my own room. That way I don't need to share a bedroom with an _animal." _taunted Sami. She didn't stop there. "And are you thinking about _him? _Dan Wright? That guy you were _in love with?" _

Layla lost it. "Shut up!" she screamed.

"That's enough!" Zane scolded his two daughters. When their parents weren't looking, Sami stuck her tongue out at her older sister. Layla rolled her eyes.

The car stopped. "Here we are." announced Rikki.

"I hope our house is haunted by ghosts and we have to move somewhere else." Layla muttered under her breath.

Mrs. Bennett overheard her.

"Come on, Layla." said Rikki. "When else will we get a chance to live right on the Gold Coast?"

"I'd rather live on the streets with hippies." complained Layla as she looked at their new house. It was painted a hideous brown, the roof tar had been chipped, and the door was painted the ugliest shade of cream.

Rikki stopped and smiled at her daughter. Layla looked a lot like her mother when Rikki was her age.

"What?" said Layla when she noticed her mother was looking at her funny.

"You know," began Mrs. Bennett. "You remind me of me when I was your age."

Layla lightened up a bit. "Really?" she said.

"Yeah." agreed Rikki. "I always was a little persistent."

Rikki walked to the end of the car.

"I am not!" scoffed Layla. "If anything, I am stubborn!"

Mrs. Bennett giggled and grabbed her suitcase out of the trunk.

Layla pulled hers out, too. So did Sami.

Zane followed, carrying a box full of photos framed into copper picture frames. He pulled the key out of his pocket, and unlocked the door.

There was practically nothing inside the Bennetts' new house. It only came with stairs, a fridge, and an unplugged TV set lying in the corner. The rest was just empty rooms.

Sami wasted no time running upstairs. Layla slowly followed. She found her little sister jumping up and down in an bedroom with a twin-sized bed on the side.

"Cool!" she exclaimed. "I call this room!"

Layla looked around. She crossed her fingers, praying that she didn't need to share a room with a 9 year-old wild animal.

Gratefully, Layla found another bedroom next to Sami's room. A double-sized bed was in the left corner.

Mr. and Mrs. Bennett came upstairs.

"Wow. This is very nice." said Rikki.

"Nice?" exclaimed Sami. "This place is awesome! I'm getting my stuff." Sami ran downstairs to retrieve her suitcase.

But Layla wasn't so enthusiastic. She sat on her bed and stared at the wall.

Zane walked into her new room.

"You okay?" he asked.

Layla paused. "Yeah, sure." she muttered after a moment.

Mr. Bennett sat next to her on her bed.

"Hey," he said. "What's wrong?"

Layla hesitated, then told him, "I wasn't too happy about moving. I had to leave behind our old house, my school, and all my friends." Like Layla, Zane used to be rebellious and troublemaking. She always found a way to confide in him in anything.

"You'll make new friends." he assured her.

"None like Sandy." Sandy was Layla's closest and very best friend. They had known each other since they were four years old. Leaving behind Sandy resulted with them both heartbroken.

"And I feel like Mom's always trying to find ways that she and I are similar." added Layla.

Zane put his arm around his daughter.

"Hey," he began. "Your mum means well. When she was your age, she didn't have all this."

Layla looked at her father. "She didn't?" she asked.

Mr. Bennett shook his head. "She lived in a trailer, not in a house. Her mum had left, so it was just her and your grandpa. And she, too, was bummed about moving."

Layla never thought of it that way.

"Oh." was all she could say.

"All your mother wants to do is give you and Sami what she never had." explained Zane. After that he got up and walked back downstairs.

Layla sighed.

She went downstairs to get her suitcase.

_Maybe this won't be so bad. _she thought. _Maybe I'll have a great time on the Gold Coast. _


End file.
